Alphabet Embroidery

 A blogging friend of mine, Jenny of Elefantz, designed an embroidered alphabet set last year, and gave away the instructions on her website/blog.  (I think they are still available in her shop to buy.)  They are so cute, and I've now finished all 26 of them.  Jenny had designed them with the idea of making them into pin cushions.  I thought about that.  You can see in the photo below that I sewed two extra pieces of fabric onto the letter "b" in anticipation making a pin cushion

But I wasn't sure I wanted to make that many pin cushions!  My plan now is to maybe make them into Christmas tree ornaments, but I haven't made up my mind for sure.  Maybe I'll use them as little blocks in an alphabet baby quilt.

You can see some of the cute details in the following pictures.  

The little heart hanging from the letter "c," 

the flower on the letter "e,"

and the cute orange flower on the letter "f."

MisterStitches and I were talking about the letters.  I had just showed them all pinned up on my design wall.  He suggested that I make a decorative alphabet of my own.  I think I might just do that!

I'll keep you posted on any design ideas!

Alphabet Embroidery

My friend,Jenny, over at Jenny of Elefantz, has designed some beautiful embroidery designs for the whole alphabet.  And she is sharing them by email from her blog one or two at a time.  I thought that maybe this was a "make-along" that I might be able to keep up with, as they are small, so I'm working at turning out lots of pretty little letters.

So far I've done a through f, and am currently working on g.  Once I get the fabric ready and the threads collected, these only take about an hour each to make.

I'm pinning them up on my design wall to keep track of the finished ones.

And now for a few close-ups.  I have to admit that I am more eager to show close-ups of some of them, and a little reluctant to show others, the ones which aren't as nicely done.  But, as DaughterStitches is fond of saying, "It is what it is."  Or "C'est la vie!"

Jenny's idea and instructions call for making 26 little pin cushions with our embroideries.  (Each letter is around 2-3" tall.)  So I added some pretty lavender print to the sides of the "b" for that reason.  But I'm not sure that I want to make pincushions, so now I'm leaving them as just little squares.  Maybe I'll put them into a sampler wall hanging.  Or maybe they will be Christmas ornaments.  Who knows?!?  And some of them might even turn into pin cushions!

Aren't they such cute little designs?!?

I decided to streamline things a little bit, and prepared several squares ahead of time.  I found pieces of appropriate fabric, cut them to size, and ironed a stabilizer onto the back.  I even went through my Bear Patch Bits and found some little squares in there to use.

I have to admit that I have changed the colors a few times from what Jenny has called out.  Sometimes I can't find the right color, and sometimes I just feel like doing it a little differently.  Or, I've chosen a blue background, and she calls for light blue thread.  It's fun because they are such cute little things when they're done.  Go on over to her blog and check them out!

Embroidery

I want to tell you about my embroidery teacher.  Her name is Jenny and she lives, literally, half-way around the world.  Yes, in Australia.  Jenny of Elefantz is her blog name, and she creates beautiful embroidery and appliqué designs, many of which she shares for free, while some are for sale in her shop.  You should go there to check out some of her wonderful work.

I've never met Jenny (although I'd sure like to some day!), but she has taught me about embroidery by sharing some of her secrets and methods with me and all her readers.  I've zoomed way in on Jenny's photos, and have learned that she gets such beautiful stitching results by taking very small, short stitches.  

Now I'll show you some of my stitchery.

Disclaimer:  the pen marks will disappear after I iron the pieces!

Another essential bit of information is that each back stitch gets taken in the same stitch hole as the previous stitch.  That sounds rather obvious, but sometimes it's harder than it seems!

Right now I'm working on some of Jenny's patterns, and I'll show you a few photos.  Not every piece is my best work, but I'm getting better.  One thing that I especially admire about Jenny's work is how  smooth, even, and regular are her embroidery curves.  Graceful, even!

A big thank you, Jenny!

Wonky Houses Wall Hanging

I recently embroidered a small wall hanging to give away.  It is a pattern that I bought from Jenny of Elefantz.  Jenny is a frequent blogger and a brilliant stitcher from Australia.

I had such fun embroidering these cute little houses.  Jenny had four houses in the pattern, but I opted to use three for this wall hanging.

Here is the first close-up.  Notice the little "home" sign and the cute bunny.

Next close-up with even a wonky mailbox!

A super close-up of the third house, showing wonky windows and curtains, and the cute yellow flowers. 

Jenny's patterns are nicely drawn and easy to follow.  I ironed a light stabilizer onto the back, and traced the lines with my Frixion pen.  Then I embroidered the designs without using a hoop.  I find that gives me more freedom, and that it is easier to reach all areas of the design.  But however you like to embroider, I recommend giving Jenny's patterns a try.  She has quite a few, and they are all cute.

Some Embroidery Work

I recently finished this small wall hanging.  It is a pattern that I bought from Jenny of Elefantz.  She has loads of great designs.  You should check out her blog and website.  Jenny specializes in beautiful designs which often combine applique and embroidery. This particular wall hanging I made is only 11" by 12".  It is one of four little wonky houses in the set.

The light blue border is one of my go-to fabrics lately, by HarmonyArt Organic Fabric.  Maybe it's just handy for me, but I seem to be using it in quite a few projects lately.

Here is a close-up of some of the embroidery.  As you can see, it is quite detailed.  I have to say this was quite a bit of fun to do.